Sixteen hours of Ink
by Metch
Summary: Bella Swan, single, twenty-one and living in New York City. She's the co-owner of a bar. Looking for new staff, she stumbles accross Edward. A lonely artist with a big story tell. Their love and passion for ink gets them together. But in which way? Canon, M for LEMONS.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone!  
My name is Metch, and I'm a total stranger to the writing world!  
Although I have been writing practically since I was able to hold a biro, it's the first story I'm coming out with.**

**I am a sucker for romance and tattoo's.  
So this is my Inkella you'll meet in this very first chapter. It's meant to be a little introduction to the girl and her surroundings.**

This chapter is posted without the help of a Beta. If anyone can help me with that, or if you are willing to be my beta, please drop me a PM.

**I hope you'll enjoy this and please leave me some feedback so I can work out the rest of this story :)**

**Kisses,  
Metch.**

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**Sixteen hours of Ink.  
**_A piece of Twilight fanfiction by Metch_

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**Chapter one: Welcome to Bella's.**

It rained as Bella was lazily hanging around in her tiny studio-apartment.  
The thoughts of sun-bleached hair, sand between your toes and waves crashing onto rocks in the sea was all she could dream about on this rainy, drowsy New York day.

She resented her mother for trading in the lovely Miami for the crowded jungle of humidity and rain that was New York City.

As she lay onto her couch, which had a patchwork cover made by her old Grandma Swan, she dreamt of someplace warm and fuzzy and hugged herself.

Everything felt very comforting but Bella was seeking some atmosphere. She stepped away from her lazy position on the couch and walked over to the improvised coffee table, build out off old books and a red tray Bella had found on the antique market.

Under the so-called table Bella's searching hands found the cream, cotton basket underneath it. She pulled it out and took a couple of tea lights out of it.

She replaced all the empty lights with new candles and then reached for the lighter on the coffee table.

_That's a lot cozier_, she thought.

Right at that time, her phone beeped, announcing a new text message.

She grabbed the cell phone from the table and read the message.

It was from Rose, the co-owner of Bella's bar 'Red Dragon Fly'.

**Hi Sweets!  
I know it's your night off, but Kate just went home sick.  
Could you please come and help?  
Love, R**

Bella immediately felt sorry for Rose. It was the second time in two weeks that Kate abandoned her shift. They were almost through with the girl entirely.

_If only it weren't so hard to find decent staff these days_, Bella mused and rolled her eyes.

She typed a short, yet friendly reply to her friend and co-worker Rose and went to get ready.

Bella walked over to the partitioning in her studio that marked the sleeping-area.

Behind the black, art-deco room divider there was the king sized bed Bella had been saving up for for about a year. She always dreamt of a bed like this. A bed so big you might as well consider living in it. It was of course, huge and puffy, with feather-filled pillows and blankets. The bedding was black with grey splatters here and there. Then there was the cliché that Bella always wanted, matching black cotton curtains hanging from the bedposts to give it a sultry, mysterious but also cozy touch. Bella spent hours and hours lounging in bed with beers and movies. Of course there was the occasional guy, but nothing more special than that.

She walked over to the little chest of drawers that she had spray-painted all by herself. It had a glossy, dark purplecolor. She pulled open the third drawer. That particular drawer contained most of her work outfits: tank tops or cropped T-shirts from the bar and shorts and trousers. Bella grabbed a black tank that had the logo of the bar on the back, and a pair of ripped skinnies. She also picked out some fresh undies before she walked over to the bathroom.

She liked to leave the door of the bathroom wide open, which created the illusion of more space. But since she was a bit chilly from not moving around, she closed it and turned on her little space heater.

To say the bathroom was small was an understatement. When you entered the tiny room, there was a grey basket organizer containing typical bathroom cutlery on your left. The first basket contained hair ties and clips, along with a make-up bag and a hair brush; the second held the blow-dryer and the last was filled up with towels.

Bella turned on the shower and got undressed. She frowned sadly when she looked into the mirror and her eyes met the little swallow, tattooed on the inside of her left upper-arm. She still hadn't gone back in to finish it.

The plan was having it colored in the most prettiest of powder blues, both for the _blues_ of loss, but also for having her most favorite color on her, the color of her Granma Swan's eyes.

Marie Swan passed away two months ago. A day later, Bella called Garrett Smith –her favorite tattoo designer. She stood on his stoop two hours later, still in her clothes from the day before when she heard the news. She was miserable and make-up stained her pale face.

He hugged her tightly, hushing her like a mother did to her baby when it cried unconditionally.

Garrett was Bella's best friend. He was covered in tattoo's, from head to toe and had the heart of the purest gold on earth. He'd been around for a long time, since she got her nose piercing done three years ago, when Bella visited the Big Apple on an art-relating school trip.

She had just turned eighteen back then, and had been wanting a nose ring forever. What she didn't know back then, is that she was terrified of getting it done and that the tattoo artist was going to have to hold her hand through it.

Bella smiled at her reflection at the memory of that day. Since that day, Bella and Garrett were Facebook friends, exchanged phone numbers and had lovely two-hour phone calls about nothing at all.

To everyone, it seemed like the beginning of a lovely, romantic, _hot_ relationship. Except it wasn't such thing. They were just friends. The best friendship relationship Bella had had since kindergarten.

Now Bella lived in New York, Garrett was around much more often. They saw each other almost every two days and called on the other days. But it had been a week since Bella contacted him.

She was a bit embarrassed about her behavior earlier that week. Bella had known she had two sessions for the swallow, just because Garrett didn't have much time the day after her grandma died. The day of her second session, she went for the Tattoo shop which was only two blocks away. The sign on the door said closed, which was odd because Bella had an appointment. She tried the door, pushed it and it was open.

_Strange_, she thought.

Curiosity killed the cat, or so the saying goes. Bella went inside the shop and looked around for her blond-haired friend.

Nothing

She heard some noise, coming from the door that led to the stairwell to Garrett's apartment.

There was a groan and Bella thought Garrett might have fallen off of the stairs.

"Garr, you ok-", she said as she opened the door.

She wasn't met by her friend lying immobile onto the stairs, crying out in pain.

Instead, her mouth still wasn't closed as she took in the image of Garrett and a very red-headed girl, fucking on the stairs.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled and just ran off.

She heard Garrett call after her, but it was a long lost cause.

Since then he hadn't called, because he knew how shy Bella could get when it came to being embarrassed. He'd know she'd come around one day.

She had gotten a text from him, saying he was sorry and hoping she'd call him when she got over the sight that must've burned her eyes off of her face.

She laughed aloud at herself and made a mental note to invite him to come over at the bar tonight.

After that, Bella got showered and lathered up in blackberry soap.

All dressed and ready after fifteen minutes, Bella pulled on some socks and sneakers and grabbed her purse from next to the couch.

Ten minutes later, Bella had almost finished the walk to the 'Red Dragon Fly'. It came in handy she and Rosalie found a proper building within maximum of fifteen minutes walking from both of their places. It also appealed to Bella that she didn't have to spend any money on cabs either, so she could save up for her motorcycle.

She put her iPod away in her purse and pulled open the door.

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Soooo, what do you think? Should I go on?

x,

Metch


	2. Chapter 2: Behind the bar

**Sixteen Hours of Ink.  
**_a piece of Twilight fanfiction by Metch_

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_**Disclaimer**.  
I do not own anything twilight.  
I simply use the characters to create my own fictional world :-)_

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**Chapter Two: Behind the Bar**

It was only six pm, but already there were a lot of people.  
As soon as Bella had entered she was greeted by a lot of patrons.

She spotted Charlotte, one of Kate's friends all alone by the darts wall. She smiled at Bella who simply returned the favor.

Tonight was Friday night, and happy hour had just started.  
On Fridays it was easy to spot the clients who only bothered to come in on happy hour, when they paid one and got one for free.  
Of course, there were also the loyal customers. People like Serge and David, father and son who dropped in together on a very regular basis.

Bella spotted Rosalie. She was behind the bar, flying from one side to another with feverish motions and on high speed.

_Poor girl_, she thought and walked over to her friend right away.

"Hey Rosie, help has arrived," Bella announced and went to dump her bag and jacket in the small room behind the bar.

"I'm going to strangle that bitch of a Kate," Rosalie growled, handing a guy with a long, grey ponytail his two beers.

"I know, right. She's been acting so strange lately. We should talk after closing-time," Bella proposed, putting on a little apron.

She gazed at her friend Rosalie. Her head of thick blonde waves was a bit tangled and hung loosely around her right shoulder.

Rosalie wore the same as Bella, only she had a pair of cut-off shorts on paired with cobweb tights.

Bella thought Rose looked stunning, even with her eyeliner a bit smudgy and her dark lipstick in need of some retouching.

"Thanks for coming, Bells," Rosalie said smiling warmly and drying of her hands. "You're an absolute angel," she went over to Bella and kissed her on the cheek as a thank-you.

"Putting some girl-on-girl-action on the program now, ladies?" The voice was familiar. Bella recognized it immediately and turned around so she could face the tall man.

"That'll only happen when Easter's on a Monday, sweet-cheeks." Rose winked at Garrett.

"Hey there, Little Miss Stranger. I thought to myself, why not go for a drink tonight and check if Bell's didn't die," Garrett mocked.

Bella felt her cheeks grow red as Rose's attention peeked and she leaned her elbows casually onto the bar to look at the scene.

"I'm so sorry Garr. I meant to text you to come over tonight," Bella explained.

Garrett shrugged off his vintage leather biker jacket and draped it over the bar stool he went to sit on.

"It's okay Cupcake, I get it. I knew you'd come around," he said and ordered a Desperados Tequila. "If I were to see you like that, I'd run to Kansas and back. Trust me, sorry."

Bella smiled at him, knowing she had nothing to worry about.

"Sorry to interrupt, but what is that all about?" Rosalie asked, looking from Garrett at Bella with suspicious blue eyes.

Bella was going to explain, until Garrett interrupted her.

"Bells caught me fucking Victoria on the stairs to my apartment," he said lightly.

Rosalie erupted in laughter, I joined in eventually.

"Oh gee, now I get it. Poor Bella, you must've been mortified!" Rosalie said, wiping at her eyes with two heavy-ringed fingers.

"It's not like I'm a saint, Rose. I just didn't really expect something like that. I thought he'd fallen off of the stairs or something like that," Bella tried to rescue the situation.

"A saint? No, but you are a little prude when it comes to my sex life," Garrett said, sipping his Desperados.

"Yeah. Well. You're like my big brother. That doesn't exactly make it like watching porn. It just makes it gross for me to watch," Bella joked.

"I walked in on my parents banging it away on a Sunday afternoon once. I am afraid of Sunday brunches at theirs since then," Rosalie mused with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Oh please. Do not even go there. No sex talk about relatives, that's all I'm asking," Bella said as she held up her hands to the both of them as a signal to quit the shit.

"Sorry Bells, I totally get it. I wouldn't want to see you humping a guy either," Rose laughed at that and tended to a client.

"That's okay, no need to worry about that though," Bella sighed.

"What's the matter, Cupcake?" Garrett asked.

"I just haven't been laid in forever, it's wearing on me," she answered him with a sly smile.

Rose re-joined the conversation after playing a request song at the sound-system.

"Forever meaning what exactly?" Rosalie asked, frowning.

"Four months?" Bella said softly.

"Seriously? What about that date you went on last week?" Rosalie asked her, sipping from a bottle of sparkling water.

"Yeah… Let's just say it was kind of a disaster. Jake's a horrible guy. He was after me like some dog running after a bone," Bella huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

The place got more crowded by now and more and more patrons came to the bar for request songs. The Red Dragonfly was a famous place for hard-rock and metal fans.

Every day they had a good amount of customers, but Fridays always were the best. The place was completely full and the smoking room and terrace were two of the girls' best assets.

"Just you wait, Cupcake. Maybe I've got something for you," Garrett winked at Bella and smiled secretive.

"You're not implying she sleeps with you, now are you?" Rose asked, a look of disgust painting her face.

"Of course not!," Bella and Garrett yelled at the same time.

"Good then," she smiled sweetly and cleaned the mess she'd made during opening a fresh bottle of champagne.

"By the way, Garrett, isn't Victoria with James?" Rose asked.

He nodded.

"That's what I thought… But during our session she told me she broke up with him. And also that she was very horny. Then she just started seducing me and yeah… Bell's knows the rest of the story," Garrett said.

The trio talked a bit, until there was too much of a crowd to be able to have a normal conversation.

Between serving customers and running around the bar to go and fetch empty glasses and bottles, Bella noticed Garrett was texting someone with that same secretive smile on his lips.

She wondered what was going on with him and that smile. Frowning she turned to Rosalie, who looked more tired by the minute.

"Honey, you go and freshen up. I can handle it alone for a couple of minutes," Bella told her.

"Gosh thanks, I feel like a total slob. You just yell if you can't handle it anymore. I'll be ten minutes tops," she smiled thankfully at Bella and went in the back room.

Bella hurried around the bar and liquors. She was lucky to have turned twenty-one in September, so she wasn't guilty of some lawbreaking anymore.

The bar was kind of new, as it was only open since the week after Bella turned twenty-one. In the mean-time Rosalie turned twenty-three and was happy to spend the money she didn't want into making her dreams come true.

After her abusive uncle passed away, Rosalie got a fair share of the fortune he'd made in the South of France over the last thirty years.

She didn't really care for the money, but she spent it on something she did want: freedom, and a place where she could be herself.

Rosalie and Bella met at school concert two years ago. They were both bored and freaked out by the bubbly, girly, loaded in pink chiffon singers that were 'performing' on stage when they met under the safety of a broken area of the bleachers.

_"Oh sorry," Bella said and started walking away from the blonde girl under the bleacher._

"_Don't! You look like you're cool. Come and join me," The blonde motioned for Bella to go and sit down next to her._

_"Thanks. Not a bit fan of the whole rainbow-dancing-cupcakes up stage?" Bella asked her._

_"Puh-lease. Do I look lik I would enjoy such crap?" She said, laughing.  
"I'm Rose, by the way. Nice to meet you, Bella," she winked and searched through her purse.  
"How do you know my name?" Bella asked her, putting a loose strand of hair under her hood._

"_I admire you. You're drawings are state of the art. Miss Dammings mentioned you in my last class about shading," Rose explained._

_"Oh," was Bella's only answer._

_"Want one?" Rose asked and handed me a cigarette._

_"Sure, thanks, so what're you majoring in?" Bella asked as Rose lid her cigarette._

The rest is, as they say, history.

The two girls got along just fine. They found out they liked the same music, same clothes and even same guys. Bella learned Rosalie was doing Business and Art, and wanted her own business.

Bella was intrigued. Rosalie was a beautiful woman, but also with brains. They exchanges phone numbers and a day later were having drinks together in a dull bar.

They talked about their future, guys and sex. Typical conversations for a nineteen year old and a twenty-one year old girl.

The night ended in Rosalie's studio, instead of the dorm room Bella was in. They were as drunk as they'd ever been and were sharing emotional confessions that ended in ice-cream and a whole bunch of tissues.

Bella smiled as she remembered their first encounter and saw that Garrett was waving at her.

"Dreaming about that lay, Cupcake?" he laughed at her.

She gave him a coy smile.

"I wasn't, mister Stairfucker. Don't you have any texts to send?" She asked him, earning a fake yawn from Garrett.

"No, I don't have to send anyone a text. That's already been taking care of," he winked at her.

"Quit the rape-face, Garrett, or no more drinks," Bella warned him playfully.

"Yes, Ma'am!" he saluted and walked away from his spot at the bar, going direction entrance as he left his jacket hanging on his chair.

_So, I hope you guys liked it?_  
_Please leave me a review. You know you want it ;)_

_I have no beta, please keep that in mind. I hope to find one, does anyone want to do that for me?_

_I really enjoy writing this fic, and I hope I can please you ladies as well ;)_

_**Reviews = preview sneak-peaks! **_

**_:)_**

**_Metch x_**


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